Windows Permissions and Managing Applications

Windows IT Pro had a helpful article recently on using 'Process Monitor' for those well-designed applications that might require elevated rights to function.

Computerworld's Greatest Windows Tips

A few useful bits in this article, including a scree capture app I hadn't heard of.

Guide: How to become anonymous online

Guide: How to become anonymous online: "

Online life is quickly eroding our usual feelings of personal anonymity. Services like Facebook mean that people are able to delve into our lives like never before.

Stalking, whistle blowing, even watching TV programmes broadcast in other countries; these and other online activities all rely on some form of online anonymity – or lack of it.

We humans don't generally like strangers knowing all about us, but we may be unwittingly providing people with details of our lives we'd rather were kept out of the public gaze. Keeping anonymous online is also a concern for a growing number of people in countries where speaking out has real consequences.

Luckily, there are several steps you can take to stay incognito online, and even some that can reduce the amount of spam email messages you receive.

Keep your email secret

Your email address is a big part of your online identity. It's also a valuable source of revenue for people whose business involves supplying spammers with live addresses.

If the sites you register with aren't secure, hackers can access the database containing all the user credentials, and the email addresses are sure to be sold on.

It's also an unpleasant fact of online life that some website owners lie when they say they'll never give your email address to anyone else. This is predominantly a problem for users of adult sites. Your email address may be sold on to sites with similar themes, which then spam you as well as selling your address on to others.

When an online business folds, the owner might also decide the list of registered users is an asset worth selling.

Luckily, you can use a throwaway address to avoid these problems. These exist for only a short period of time – just long enough to complete a registration process. GuerrillaMail runs one such service.

When you want to sign up for a website, go to GuerrillaMail and hit the 'Get temporary email' button to generate a random address. Copy and paste this address into the site's registration form.

When you return to GuerrillaMail, your temporary inbox will be displayed. If the site in question requires you to confirm your registration, the incoming mail will appear here. If there's a delay, simply click on the link marked 'Give me one full hour again' to reset the life of the address to 60 minutes.

Anonymous personal domains

If you have a family website containing your name and address, and you post that your family is off to visit Auntie Nellie in New Zealand on 30 August for three months, you may attract the attention of local housebreakers.

And even if you remove your address, there's another way they can easily find out where there's a nice, empty house to rob. The Whois record for a domain lists the registrar, the expiry date, the owner's details, the DNS servers and sometimes much more.

Go to an online Whois service such as whois.domaintools.com and enter a domain name (without the www) to see an example. The level of detail can be quite shocking.

When buying a domain, if it's unallocated – meaning that it's free to be sold by any domain registration company – it's a good idea to pick a registrar that will register it on your behalf. Their address will then appear in the domain's Whois record.

Simply search for the company offering the lowest price, then send an email asking whose name the registration will be in if the information isn't on the site. If a specific company or individual is selling the domain you want, they may simply transfer the Whois record to you, exposing your address to the world in the process.

You may be tempted to get round this problem by using a false address. However, the one that appears in the Whois record is usually the one you gave when you entered your credit card details to buy the domain. Because of this, it pays to ask if you can use a PO Box number to cover your tracks.

This service currently costs £63 per year (or £51 for six months) from Royal Mail. If you only need the address to register the domain, you can let the PO Box lapse afterwards.

Anonymous surfing

Web surfing encompasses the use of websites, online forums and chatrooms. As we mentioned in last issue's Uncover the darknet article, you can use the Tor network to hide your IP address completely.

Tor is an 'onion router'. This is a network of computers spread across the globe. When enabled in your browser, Tor redirects all your outgoing web traffic through this network. Each connection takes a random path and emerges at a random point.

When it reaches the destination site, it appears that you're moving around the planet minute by minute. Note that Tor only makes your IP address anonymous, and it only works when you're browsing the web. Other types of traffic will pass straight from your machine to its destination.

Tor is available as a plug-in for Firefox. To use it, download the Tor Bundle from the project website. With Firefox running, run the downloaded executable, select English as the installation language and accept the defaults.

Firefox will ask you to confirm that you want the Tor button extension to be installed. Press 'Install Now' and restart Firefox when asked to. At the bottom right of the Firefox window will be the words 'Tor disabled'. Clicking on this changes it to 'Tor Enabled'.

Now, surf to http://check.torproject.org. If Tor is enabled, the message 'Congratulations. You are using Tor' will be displayed. You should also see an IP address. This address will be different each time you visit the page.

Spoof your country

Rather than bouncing around the world at random, you can also appear to be surfing from a single foreign country. This can be handy for several things.

For example, some TV broadcasters deliberately block foreign fans from accessing online content. Sometimes shows from one country are never broadcast or sold on DVD in others, and yet their makers still block access to them from abroad.

Because the content is being made available online for free, the reasons for blocking access in certain territories often defy logic. If the makers plan to sell the TV programmes abroad, why put them online in the first place? Viewers who are allowed to see the content can easily download and mail them overseas, and content regularly appears in high quality on torrent sites.

To avoid the ire of your ISP for generating too much P2P traffic, one method of accessing territory-restricted content is to use a public proxy server in a country that is allowed access.

Websites such as www.publicproxyservers.com maintain lists of public proxy servers. Because many proxies cache content, they can sometimes even be faster than accessing the original site directly.

On the Public Proxy Servers website, click on the 'Sorted by Country' link at the top left. Find the country in which the broadcaster who's blocking your access resides. Select a sever with a high rating to ensure you get a fast connection.

Clicking a server's details will open the proxy site's web interface. Enter the URL of the content that has been blocked and hit [Enter]. The site should now relay the content between the target site and your browser.

Be careful, though. You must continue to enter any subsequent URLs into the proxy or your request may go straight to the target site and be blocked.

Thwart trackers

Some websites use the services of so-called tracking companies to monitor traffic. However, by installing a small piece of JavaScript on the site, people can monitor a lot more than just numbers of visitors.

The script is automatically downloaded and run when you open the page, and details such as your IP address, ISP, browser and even screen resolution can all be monitored. While this may help web designers to create better websites, it's also possible to trace IP addresses to a general geographic location without ever having to go near your ISP's logs.

To prevent other people discovering this information and possibly tracking your web usage, it's a good idea to use JavaScript blocking. Possibly the best utility for doing this is the Firefox plugin NoScript.

When it's installed, absolutely no JavaScript on a page will run unless you expressly unblock it. This also protects you from malicious JavaScript applets that may have been planted to infect your system in a so-called 'drive-by' attack.

NoScript also allows you to see the secondary domains used by big websites to supply adverts and other annoyances. Because NoScript blocks on a domain basis, it can block third-party ads, too.

To install NoScript, select 'Add-ons' from Firefox's Tools menu. This will pop up a window showing what's already installed on your system. Hit the 'Get Add-ons' button and then click the 'Browse All Add-ons' link. This will take you to Mozilla's add-ons site.

Enter NoScript in the search box and hit [Enter]. NoScript should be the first result returned. Click the button to add it. Press the 'Install Now' button on the pop-up and restart Firefox once installation is complete.

NoScript lives in the bottom right-hand corner of the Firefox window. When you surf to a site, if there are blocked scripts then the blue NoScript 'S' logo will display a red circle with a line through it. Click this and you'll see a list of all the domains with scripts being blocked. Click on the ones you trust (usually just the main domain), and click anywhere on the web page to continue.

One side effect of blocking scripts using NoScript is that sites with media will sometimes complain that you don't have Adobe Flash installed. If this happens, simply look through the list for the site that serves the media and unblock it.

This inconvenience is a small price to pay to stay safe and away from the prying eyes of online marketing people. By blocking scripts that may take time to load from overworked third-party servers, NoScript also helps to improve the speed of the sites you visit.

Related Stories

• DDoS attack hits Amazon and Expedia
• Opinion: Online video: the end of an awkward adolescence
• Twitter buys into geo-location
• In Depth: Getting connected: a history of modems
• In Depth: 12 net technologies that shaped the decade

"

(Via TechRadar: All latest feeds.)

10 steps to creating a calculating Word form

10 steps to creating a calculating Word form: "

Word offers the tools you need to handle simple calculations within your documents. This walk-through demonstrates the process.

---

When performing mathematical equations, we usually turn to Excel, but Word can handle low-level calculations. The process isn’t necessarily intuitive, but it’s easy once you know how to use the proper tools. If you store values and formulas in a Word form field, Word can apply a data type to the data rather than interpreting everything as normal text. Form fields can store static values and formulas. Bookmarking the form field allows you to enter bookmark names in formulas, in essence using them as variables. In this example, you’ll create a sales form that calculates totals, but the steps are generally the same regardless of your calculating task. Only the values and formulas will change.

Note: This article is also available as a PDF download.

Step 1: Determine your needs

The first step to creating a calculating form is to determine the values you need to store and how the form will evaluate those values mathematically. For instance, let’s suppose you want to use a Word document to calculate the total purchase price of a particular item. In that case, you might need the following information:

• The product’s price


• The quantity purchased


• Current tax, if applicable

The information will vary from task to task, but before you do anything, determine the static values the form will need to store and evaluate. (By static, we mean a literal value and not the result of a calculation.)

Step 2: Flesh out the calculations

By referring to static values (Step 1) in formulas, you can calculate extended information. Before you start entering operators and operands, though, it’s a good idea to work the formulas out with pen and paper. In the case of our example sales form, you might want a subtotal — the result of multiplying the product’s price by the number of items sold. You’ll definitely want a grand total — the subtotal plus any applicable tax. Both formulas follow:

Subtotal: =Price * Quantity

Grand Total: =Subtotal * Tax + Subtotal

Step 3: Design the form — use a table

Once you’ve listed all the static values and formulas, you’re ready to start building the form. Tables aren’t a prerequisite for adding calculating fields, but we recommend them because they help manage your data. For instance, Figure A shows the table that will store and display values for our line item sales form.

Figure A: Use tables to corral and manage values.

To create the table, choose Insert from the Table menu and select Table. In the Insert Table dialog box, specify two columns, five rows, and click OK. Then, enter the appropriate heading text in the left column.

Step 4: Display the Forms toolbar

With your table ready, it’s time to start entering form fields, which allow you to enter data at a specific location. Our example needs form fields to store the three static values and two formulas. Form fields provide a data type and use formulas that can refer to those values, similar to using a variable.

Form fields aren’t available from the standard menu or toolbar. You’ll need the Forms toolbar (Figure B), which you can display by right-clicking any menu or toolbar and choosing Forms. We’ll use the Text Form Field button to insert form fields into the table.

Figure B: Display the Forms toolbar so you can insert form fields.

Step 5: Insert a text form field

A text form field stores several types of data: text, numbers, symbols, and dates. It’s a little strange to store numeric and date values as text, but don’t let the term confuse you. This type of form field doesn’t limit the field to storing data strictly as text.

To insert a form field for storing the product price value, you’ll need a Number type, which you can insert as follows:

1. Press [Alt]+F9 to display field codes. Form fields are easier to work with if you can see the actual field codes while building the form.


2. Position the cursor in the first cell in the second column.


3. Click Text Form Field on the Forms toolbar.


4. Right-click the newly inserted form field and choose Properties from the resulting context menu.


5. Choose Number from the Type field’s drop-down list.


6. From the Format Number list, choose the currency setting, $#,##0.00;($#,##0.00)


7. In the Bookmark field, enter Price, as shown in Figure C. (We’ll reference the bookmarks in the formulas we enter later.)


8. Click OK.

Figure C: Enter Price in the Bookmark field.

Step 6: Insert text form fields for the remaining static values

There are two other static values, Quantity and Tax. Refer to Table A and using the process discussed in Step 5, enter two more text form fields.

Table A

Type	Format	Bookmark	Calculate On Exit
Number	0	Quantity	Check
Number	0%	Tax	Check

Be sure to select the Calculate On Exit setting for both static form fields. That will force Word to calculate the form’s formulas (which you haven’t entered yet) when you press Tab to leave that form field. At this point, the form has three form fields as shown in Figure D.

Figure D: This form has three text form fields.

Step 7: Insert a calculating form field for the subtotal

The three form fields store static values — the product’s price, the quantity sold, and any applicable tax. Now, it’s time to add a calculating form field that will subtotal cost. Add the subtotaling form field as follows:

1. Position the cursor in the fourth row’s second column.


2. Click Text Form Field on the Forms toolbar.


3. Right-click the new form field and choose Properties from the context menu.


4. From the Type field’s drop-down list, choose Calculation.


5. In the Expression field enter Price * Quantity. (Don’t delete the equal sign Word provides!)


6. From the Format Number list, choose the currency option, $#,##0.00;($#,##0.00)


7. Enter Subtotal in the Bookmark field, as shown in Figure E, and click OK.

Figure E: The Expression field stores simple formulas.

Figure F shows the form’s first calculating field. (We’ve increased the width of the column just a bit so you can see the field code unwrapped.) The code includes the formula, which refers to two of the static values, bookmarked as Price and Quantity.

Figure F: A calculating form field includes the field’s formula.

Step 8: Insert a calculating form field for the grand total

Now you’re ready to create a form field that will calculate the grand total. This one’s a little more complex, because you must calculate the tax and add it to the subtotal. To create this calculating field, do the following:

1. Position the cursor in the last row’s second column.


2. Click Text Form Field on the Forms toolbar.


3. Right-click the form field and choose Properties.


4. From the Type field’s drop-down list, choose Calculation.


5. In the Expression field enter Subtotal + (Subtotal * Tax)


6. From the Format Number list, choose the currency option, $#,##0.00;($#,##0.00)


7. Enter GrandTotal in the Bookmark field and click OK.

You’ve now inserted all five form fields. Figure G shows the completed form.

Figure G: This form has five form fields: three store static values and two store formulas that refer to those static values.

Step 9: Protect the document

Before you use the document, you should protect it so that users can’t inadvertently alter (mess up) your form fields. To do so, click Protect Form on the Forms toolbar (that’s the icon that looks like a padlock.)

Step 10: Use the form!

With the form fields protected, you’re ready to use the form. Simply enter values and watch how the calculating form fields update. To use the form, do the following:

1. Position the cursor in the first form field (Price) and enter a value, such as 3.


2. Press Tab and Word will select the Quantity field. Enter a value, such as 2.


3. Press Tab and Word will select the Tax field and calculate the two calculating fields, as shown in Figure H. Right now, there’s no tax figured into the purchase.


4. Enter a tax value, such as .06 and press Tab. Figure I shows the result of the grand total evaluating the tax value.

Figure H: The form calculates both form fields.

Figure I: Now the two calculating formulas have all the data they need to return different totals.

---

Tina Norris Fields, M.A. Leadership, B.S. Bus-CIS, is the owner of Tall Pines Computer Training and specializes in facilitating adult computer mastery.

"

(Via 10 Things.)

Guide: How to sync passwords, files and bookmarks

Guide: How to sync passwords, files and bookmarks: "

Staying synchronised across several different PCs can be a challenge. Updating files manually isn't a great idea, especially if you do so regularly, because it takes only one mistake to cause serious problems.

Obviously keeping regular backups will protect you against data loss, but managing multiple versions of files can be very tricky.

The best option is to use an automated system that backs your files up remotely and synchronises each PC whenever you're connected to the internet, so you don't have to worry about transfer drives.

Dropbox handles this automatically and you can use 2GB of space with a free account. All internet transfers are encrypted. When you set up Dropbox, you can specify the location of its folder.

• Read our Dropbox review

Everything inside it will be uploaded to its servers and mirrored on any computer that you install the program on. It comes in Windows, Mac and Linux variants, so you can sync data across operating systems.

Once you've signed up for an account and installed the software, simply place anything you want mirrored across your PCs into the Dropbox folder. As long as your computer is online, it will receive the most up-to-date version of the files. Changes made to files while offline will be updated when you connect to the net again.

Password manager KeePass uses a database file to store encrypted copies of your passwords and log-in information. You can opt to save this file wherever you like; just ensure this resides within your Dropbox folder to keep it up-to-date on all your computers.

KeePass has Mac and Linux versions that use the same database files as the Windows version, giving you a cross platform password synchronising solution.

The main limitation of Dropbox is that it doesn't synchronise data that isn't stored within its folder. This makes it unsuitable for synchronising files that need to be stored in a specific location, such as bookmarks and some calendar files.

However, you can persuade it to sync outside its folder by using a little hack and symbolic links. In Windows Vista onwards, you can use a command called mklink to link an external folder to your Dropbox.

So, to sync Firefox bookmarks, first ensure that hidden files are shown by typing folder options into the Start menu search, selecting the View tab and choosing 'Show Hidden Files and Folders'. Click 'OK'.

On a PC, browse to C:\ Users\\AppData\ Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default\ where is your Windows account username and the xxxxxxxx represents a string of eight numbers and letters that differ from account to account. Make a note of the folder name.

Now choose 'Start | All Programs | Accessories' and right-click 'Command Prompt'. Select 'Run as Administrator'.

At the command prompt, enter mklink /D 'D:\My Documents\Dropbox\xxxx xxxx.default' 'C:\ Users\\ AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\ Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx. default\'.

Remember to substitute the location of your dropbox folder and your folder settings for your Firefox profile. You'll need to set up symbolic links like this one on each PC that you want to sync.

There are easier ways to synchronise bookmarks, but this principle works for any program that needs to store its data in a specific place.

Related Stories

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• Twitter hit by Iranian hack attack
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• BPI: No decline in illegal downloading

"

(Via TechRadar: All latest feeds.)

Updating Your Small Business Computers

Computerworld did a nice writeup about how to use Microsoft's WSUS for managing updates for your Windows-based computers and Microsoft applications.

I run a WSUS server at home because it SO dramatically cuts down on the update times for updating regular computers but particularly new Windows builds. Instead of spending 3 or 4 hours in the download process, it's a matter of minutes.

10 steps to ensure foolproof client migrations

Very helpful! Have anything to add?

10 steps to ensure foolproof client migrations: "

Make sure no critical information gets left behind when you perform desktop and laptop migrations.

---

It’s an IT challenge many enterprise professionals don’t understand: desktop migrations. ‘What’s so hard about migrating client machines?’ ask many enterprise administrators. ‘You just unbox the new desktop, deploy the hard disk image over the network, and you’re done, right?’

The majority of organizations don’t have the budgets and infrastructure necessary to maintain disk image libraries, much less an IT department that’s sufficiently staffed to develop, maintain, and administer image technology. That leaves others — and most IT consultants — having to perform desktop and laptop migrations the hard way: manually.

While different tools, applications, and systems exist to ease the process of moving a user’s programs, settings, files, photos, music, encrypted data, proprietary applications, financial information, email account settings, and other critical elements from one computer to another, they don’t really address all user requirements. Here are 10 steps you can follow to properly migrate desktops and laptops and ensure that no critical information is left behind.

Note: This article is also available as a PDF download.

1: Perform a software inventory

Before beginning the task of migrating user settings, data, and information, perform an inventory of installed software on the old machine. Leverage free tools such as Belarc Advisor or simply review a client’s Desktop, Quick Launch toolbar, and Start menu for commonly used applications. Review the list of applications with the user to make sure you know every program that must be reinstalled on the new computer.

2: Prepare installation media in advance

Upon learning that you will be migrating a user’s settings, data, and programs from one computer to another, request that the user round up all original installation media –  and do it as far in advance as possible. This includes Microsoft Office CD-ROMs, application DVDs, applications downloaded from the Internet, etc. Without installation media on hand, a one- or two-hour migration can consume an entire day as you work to track down old, outdated, and even sunset installation files.

3: Collect license keys in advance

A software inventory and installation media are worthless if you don’t have all the registration codes and license and product keys. Intuit (with its QuickBooks products) is infamous for making its clients record product numbers, license keys, business zip code, and business telephone numbers to activate reinstalled software. Microsoft Office requires a unique 25-digit alphanumeric code. Antivirus programs have their own keys. Ensure that you or your clients have all the necessary documentation ready to go when you begin a client migration; otherwise, you’ll lose precious hours seeking necessary licensing information.

4: Record printers in use

Most every IT consultant and technology professional has left a site or department following a client migration only to be called back. One of the most common callback causes? Forgotten printers. Don’t assume that just because you installed all printers in the client’s office that you’ve connected all the printers the user requires. Frequently, users must print to printers on different floors and in different departments. When configuring printers on the new machines, be sure to identify the proper default device, too.

5: Review network configuration

Another common mistake when completing client migrations is to assume all systems tap DHCP services on the network. Obviously, this is not always true, as some users still use PCAnywhere, DVRs, and other applications and equipment that require configuring static IP addresses. In other cases, computers may have manually configured DNS addresses. Always check a computer’s IP settings before replacing it.

6: Note computer, workgroup, and domain names

Best business practices don’t apply in every organization. On more than one occasion, I’ve encountered clients and companies that, for legacy support reasons or personal preferences of the owner, use nonstandard computer, workgroup, and domain naming conventions. In other cases, some computers may not be members of a corporate domain, as the owner may want to maintain separate networks for business or security reasons. Always review a computer’s name, workgroup, and domain configuration before beginning a client migration. This is especially important, as any files or printers shared by a system that’s being replaced will no longer be accessible to other users if the same configuration is not properly replicated.

7: Install popular third-party utilities

Despite reinstalling office, financial, and business-line applications, reconfiguring all user settings (including moving a client’s personal desktop wallpaper), and migrating all user files (including music, photos, and video), I’ve been called back to client offices because new systems didn’t ‘work properly.’ Further review of such cases often showed the new PC didn’t include Adobe Reader (or Apple QuickTime, Adobe Flash, WinZip, or other software). Users often don’t understand that these free programs are easily downloaded and installed from the Internet. Worse, they don’t know where to go to locate and install these files. So be sure to include such popular third-party utilities in migration checklists.

8: Don’t forget the .NK2 file

Possibly the largest, most understandable gripe users have when switching computers is the loss of the autofill information that appears when they begin typing an email address within a Microsoft Outlook message’s To field. In my experience, users become absolutely dependent upon this information, which is kept within a single file. Users frequently don’t add everyone to their Contacts list, so dozens if not hundreds or thousands of email addresses are ‘lost’ if Outlook’s NK2 file isn’t migrated to their new machine. Outlook stores the NK2 file for each Outlook profile within a dedicated Outlook folder. On Windows XP systems, this file is found within the Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder. On Windows Vista and 7 systems, this file lives within the Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook folder. It must be migrated back to the same location, and its filename (usually Outlook.NK2) must match the Outlook profile name to work properly on the new system.

9: Remap network drives

Users quickly become dependent upon mapped drives, but they usually don’t recognize that fact. For example, an accountant may be accustomed to opening QuickBooks and accessing a company file by opening files stored on the Q: drive. Unless the Q: drive (and other drive mappings) are replicated on new systems, backups, applications, and other programs will not work properly. Users often only know that they open applications and ‘click on this drive’ or ‘click on that item,’ and they don’t always understand those clicks connect to different systems. Be sure to remap all network drives to preempt frustration.

10: Use a physical checklist

You don’t work in a vacuum. Your users often want to discuss the day’s breaking news stories, recent sports events, or even different computer issues they’re experiencing at home while you’re trying to program new routers, configure DNS, or migrate the user from an old computer to a new one. In other words, you’re going to work in environments rich with distraction. To assist migration projects, use a preprinted checklist, such as our Desktop Migration Checklist. (Note: Access to this list requires a TechRepublic Pro membership.) A checklist will help ensure you don’t forget any critical tasks, whether clients are asking how to eliminate spyware on their home system, your cell phone rings, or a number of other interruptions arise.

---

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"

(Via 10 Things.)

Recycle that contract-free iPhone as a holiday gift

Recycle that contract-free iPhone as a holiday gift: "

Filed under: iPhone

We're sure this will be a hit for the holiday season: Apple recently updated one of the iPhone support articles, explaining how you can continue using an iPhone as a quasi-iPod touch, if you no longer have a cellphone contract with your carrier. Let's give an example:



Your iPhone 3G contract was eligible for the upgrade pricing not too long ago, so you purchased an iPhone 3GS. You have your old iPhone 3G lying around the house with no purpose. Obviously, you could try and sell it... but maybe your child has been begging you for an iPod touch for Christmas. Apple wants to see these devices be re-used and not thrown into the trash, so they've outlined how to activate your iPhone (1st gen, 3G or 3GS) in the article.



It all boils down to this: never get rid of your SIM card. For the iPhone 1st generation, you have to keep the original SIM card in place at all times. Without this, it will not activate in the next software update. The iPhone 3G and 3GS do not need a SIM card installed for day-to-day use. However, you still need a SIM card for the required activation after a software update.



This differs a bit from the iPhone 1st generation: with the iPhone 3G and 3GS you can use any SIM card from your authorized carrier. Either way, it's silly not to leave the SIM card in each generation of iPhone as long as you don't need the SIM card for your new phone. Now you won't get stuck at the 'Connect to iTunes' screen forever.

TUAWRecycle that contract-free iPhone as a holiday gift originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
















iPhone - Apple - iTunes - IPod Touch - IPod Classic"

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Find the fastest DNS using a free tool

This might be getting a little geeky but if you want to totally maximize your Internet connection, fast DNS is key. Here's how!

Find the fastest DNS using a free tool: "Since Google announced their new free public DNS service, there has been a lot of talk about the speed of various DNS.



If you'd like to find the fastest DNS for your location, use the free Namebench, which tests well-known DNS as well as your regional DNS.



I had been using OpenDNS, but it turns out my ISP's DNS is 53% faster!



[robg adds: The test can take a while to run, and on my machine at least, I wasn't able to use the net while it was running -- lookups kept timing out until the test was over. The end result, though, is quite useful.]











"

(Via MacOSXHints.com.)

10 books every IT pro should read

10 books every IT pro should read: "

If you have a little extra time on your hands — or if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to become a more well-rounded IT pro — check out this recommended reading list.

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As an IT professional, chances are you read a lot. And, it’s a good bet that most of what you read consists of manuals and other technical books and articles directly related to your work. However, you really owe it to yourself read other types of IT-related books. For example, reading nonfiction IT-related books can help you gain different perspectives on the industry, while reading fictional books about IT will allow you to relax and enjoy the industry. So as we get ready to close the book (pun intended) on the first decade of the 2000s, I thought I would compile a list of 10 books I think every IT pro should read.

Note: This article is also available as a PDF download.

1: Does IT Matter?

Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage

by Nicholas Carr

Every institution on the planet relies on information technology in some shape or form. It is the lifeblood of business and it provides most TechRepublic readers with a solid way to make a living. But does it really make a difference? In this thought-provoking look at the IT industry, the author challenges us to examine the role IT plays in the overall success of business. I highly recommend that everyone in IT pick up this book, no matter what your job is. Everyone from the support specialist to the CIO will find it worth their time to read Carr’s analyses.

2: The Road Ahead

by Bill Gates

Soon after Windows 95 radically changed computerdom as we knew it back then, Bill Gates released The Road Ahead, in which he examined the personal computing revolution and how it was to play out in a future being paved by the information superhighway of the Internet. There are two editions of this book. The first was published in December 1995 and the second was published in October 1996. The second edition was put together so soon because Gates realized that the Internet was changing the world faster than he had originally theorized in the first edition, and he wanted the book to be as accurate as it was innovative.

While companion CDs are pretty common these days, The Road Ahead was one of the first books I remember purchasing that came with one. Not only does the CD contain the text of the book and supplemental information, but it also includes a couple of video shorts - mini-dramas that provide a look into how the technology discussed in the book would play out in the future. For example, a mother and son take advantage of home-based technology, such as information appliances and interactive TV. In another, a pair of Seattle police detectives uses video conferencing, mobile communications, and electronic wallets. When the boy from the earlier video goes to school, we see all sorts of electronic gadgets being used in education, such as tablet PCs and digital whiteboards.

Even though this book is relatively old, it is still a good read. It offers an interesting perspective of the man who, back then, recognized the path technology was on and steered Microsoft in that direction.

3: Showstopper!:

The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft

by G. Pascal Zachary

If you’ve been in IT for a while, you remember when Windows NT 3.1 was released in July 1993 and how, as the first fully 32-bit version of Windows, it began to change the world of IT professionals. At the time, this operating system was revolutionary for a number of reasons, including the fact that it was processor-independent, provided a full preemptive multitasking kernel, featured a new file system called NTFS, and possessed many other innovative technological advances.

To create a new version of Windows from the ground up, Microsoft hired Dave Cutler, from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), and tasked the creator of the VMS operating system for the VAX superminicomputer with picking up the pieces of what was being developed as OS/2 3.0 and transform it into what would become the foundation for today’s Windows 7.

In this fascinating story, you get a rare and detailed look at the day-to-day machinations that went on inside the walls of Microsoft as the powerful and intelligent Cutler orchestrated the development of the most complex OS ever created for the PC.

4: iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon:

How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It

by Steve Wozniak

Everyone knows that Steve Jobs is now the leading force at Apple, but he didn’t get there by himself. Back in 1976, Jobs and his business partner, Steve Wozniak, formed Apple Computer and began work on the Apple I, which when released was essentially a circuit board containing about 30 chips. To this circuit board, end users had to connect a power supply, keyboard, and a standard television to get a working system. Using a keyboard for input and a television for output made the Apple I stand out from the competition. For example, the Altair 8800 used toggle switches for input and colored indicator lights for output.

In this book, Wozniak presents the story of his early years and his fascination with emerging computer technology and how he teamed up with Steve Jobs and created the first modern computer. Not only does the book provide an interesting, yet quirky, historical perspective on the beginnings of Apple, but it is filled with wonderful techy anecdotes, old photos, and even a glossary of computer terms.

Even if you’re not an Apple fan, this book is a fun read.

5: The Cuckoo’s Egg:

Tracking a Spy through the Maze of Computer Espionage

by Cliff Stoll

Back in 1986, an astronomer named Cliff Stoll took a job as a computer operator at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories when his grant money ran out. He stumbled upon and began tracking an unauthorized user through a maze of networks that included hacking into computers at universities, defense contractors, and military bases. Stoll eventually uncovered an international spy ring that was hacking into these computers, seeking out U.S. intelligence, and selling it to the KGB.

As a methodical scientist, Stoll began keeping a daily log book in which he documented the hacker’s movements and methods. To add credibility to what he was witnessing, he set up traps, such as making sure that the hacker had access to the Lawrence Berkeley network where a teletype printer recorded everything the hacker typed and setting up a honeypot in the guise of a fake Strategic Defense Initiative account filled with fake documents that would keep the hacker involved long enough to backtrack the connection to its origin. The investigation lasted close to a year and involved a multitude of federal agencies, including the the FBI, CIA, NSA, and Air Force OSI.

Based on his experiences and vividly recounted with the aid of his detailed logs, this book documents an incredible true story of international computer espionage that is both educational and entertaining.

6: Gödel, Escher, Bach:

An Eternal Golden Braid

by Doug Hofstadter

A deep exploration of the workings of the human mind, using as examples the works of logician Kurt Gödel, artist M. C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, this book provides a philosophical outlook on how life, thoughts, and technology are all linked together. There are so many different and fascinating ideas presented in this book, along with wonderful illustrations, charts, diagrams, and complex formulas, that reading it is like exploring a foreign yet familiar land.

It is a captivating book, but because of its heavy subject matter, I found it best read it in small chunks over time.

7: The Google Story

by David Vise and Mark Malseed

Over the years, we’ve all picked up bits and pieces of the history behind Google’s rise and its brilliant cofounders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. But in this book, which was updated for Google’s 10th birthday, we get the real inside story, because the authors were allowed seemingly unfettered access to historical documents and people at Google — including Page and Brin.

They present a unique perspective on the people behind the scenes as you learn about the company’s milestone events, such as the arrival of the first investor, the development of the Googleplex campus, the origins of keyword-targeted Web ads, the IPO, new product developments, and much more. Along the way, you’ll learn a lot about how the search business works and much more about Google’s plans for expansion of its searchable database.

8: Wikinomics:

How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything

by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams

By now, everyone is familiar with Wikipedia — the massive collaborative effort aimed at providing the world with an encyclopedic source of information about everything. Thousands of people contribute to Wikipedia on a regular basis and it has become a terrific example of what can be accomplished when people use the world wide access of the Internet to work on a common goal.

This book explores how many companies have and can use mass collaboration and wikis to grow quickly and successfully. In fact, the book begins with the story of how Goldcorp CEO Rob McEwan learned of the success of the Linux open source initiative, realized that the closely guarded company secrets of mining for gold were no longer yielding viable results, and decided to share the company’s geological data on the Web along with the offer of $575,000 in prizes to those who could come up with the best way to find and extract gold on the company’s 55,000 acre mining facility. Suggestions based on the data poured in and out of the 55 new targets that were identified, 80% hit pay dirt.

Citing Goldcorp’s success as an example of Wikinomics, the authors go on to provide examples of other companies and describe in detail how these companies employed and harnessed collaborative efforts, or Wikinomics, to grow and be even more successful.

9: Microserfs

by Douglas Coupland

This is a thoroughly amusing story about a group of fictional characters working at Microsoft who feel that life at the company is like being in a feudalistic society, with Bill Gates as the lord and the employees as the serfs. As the story progresses, you learn more about each of the characters and how their lives are intertwined with each other, their products, and Microsoft.

Later, the group leaves Microsoft and Seattle and moves to the San Francisco where they start a new company. Living in California is different from Seattle, and you see the characters shed their Microserf skin and evolve in different ways.

10: The Soul of a New Machine

by Tracy Kidder

We all know what a cutthroat business the PC industry is and that the extreme competition that exists between rival companies can also exist inside a company as employees vie for resources and power. This type of competition is more widely publicized nowadays, but it wasn’t invented by those in the PC industry. In The Soul of a New Machine, Kidder documents the internal turmoil that embroils two groups of Data General Corporation engineers tasked with developing a new a minicomputer that will go head-to-head with a new VAX computer from archrival Digital Equipment Corporation.

Along the way, we learn more about the lives of the engineers, most notably a fellow by the name of Tom West, and how he and his team beat out the other group and then have to prove themselves worthy as they grapple with such challenges as making sure that the new system is backward compatible with earlier systems, using new and untested technology, and relying on young team members fresh out of college.

Published in 1981 (incidentally the same year that the IBM PC made its debut), this book won a Pulitzer Prize.

What is your favorite IT-related book?

Of course, this list isn’t comprehensive, as there are hundreds of IT-related books out there. What’s missing from this collection? Tell us about your favorite IT-related book.

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